Lawyer: Doctor accused of sexual assault has only positively served his patients

A lawyer representing a doctor accused of sexually assaulting a 68-year-old woman in his care said his client is innocent and has only positively served his patients in Southern Nevada.

David Chesnoff, whose client is 34-year-old Mane Shah, said Tuesday he will vigorously defend the charges against Shah.

North Las Vegas police arrested Shah last week on one count of felony sexual assault and one count of misdemeanor open or gross lewdness. Shah is accused of assaulting a woman in his care on Nov. 2 at North Vista Hospital.

"Dr. Shah adamantly denies the allegation," Chesnoff said. "He is a happily married man with three children who escaped communist Laos and is a self-made man."

Chesnoff was upset authorities released a report Monday that said Shah failed a polygraph test administered by an FBI agent. Results of the exam are not admissible in court, Chesnoff said.

"We will rely on a jury, not junk science," he said.

Chesnoff added that the woman who made the allegations against Shah will be under a microscope, too.

"We're going to carefully explore the alleged victim's state of mind," Chesnoff said.

A police report said the woman told investigators that Shah told her to take off her underwear after she complained of leg and hip pain. The woman said Shah then touched her near her anus and penetrated her vagina with his fingers.

The woman said even though she felt uncomfortable during the exam, she trusted Shah because he was a physician. But she knew he was assaulting her because he attempted to conceal an erection after the examination.

The report said the distraught woman called family members who told North Vista security of the allegation shortly after the physical examination. A hospital employee called police.

Gloves that were allegedly used by Shah during the examination were grabbed out of a trash bin by a family member, the report said. Police confiscated the rubber gloves as evidence.

In December, police collected Shah's DNA through a buccal, or cheek, swab test.

He has privileges to practice at North Vista, St. Rose Dominican Hospital, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, and Mountain View Hospital, police said.

Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4638.